The Word Of Peace
Homiletic Reflections On Peacemaking

Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

September 2001

Call me Ishamael. These three words are the opening to one of the most intriguing and important pieces of American literature, Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Many know the story pretty well. Ahab, the captain of the whaling ship Pequod, was assaulted by the great white whale, Moby Dick earlier in life leaving Ahab scarred and crippled outside and inside himself. From that Day forward Ahab swore that he would have his revenge, he would hunt down Moby Dick all over the world if necessary to finally confront and kill him. We know that eventually Ahab does confront the white whale and the crew of the ship with him. In the life and death struggle that ensues Ahab, consumed with a lust for revenge, is killed by drowning as he clings to Moby Dick stabbing deep with his harpoon in to the devilish whale uttering these words" from hell’s heart I stab at thee, for hate sake I spend my last breath. O Ye Whale!" And with those words he died. But that is not the end; the whale destroys all those that followed Ahab, all save one, Ishmael who lived to tell of the folly of revenge.

The past week has been one of the most horrifying in US and world history. We see that the combination of anger, desperation, and modern technology can be a deadly and horrid brew for the world. Yet, we have also seen a side to our humanity that gives hope in the midst of the tragic events of this week. We are now confronted with how we will react to the violence and killing on such a scale that only in a nightmare would it seem possible. But this is the world we live in and the world our children live in and God asks us today, how will we respond? How do the people who died in this awful and atrocious act want us to respond? I speak of them in the present tense because I am a Christian and I believe that death is not final and that those who have suffered physical death are not gone but transformed in the power of the Absolute love of God. This is an important question to ask and answer because I believe that it will help to guide us in our response to the people and problems of this world that helped to create this disaster.

If the Father of Jesus is the shepherd that chases after the lost sheep; if the Father of Jesus is the old woman searching for the lost coin; if the Father of Jesus is the one who welcomes home the prodigal son, then how are we called to respond—simply put, with mercy and forgiveness. Ah, how easy to say and how difficult to live. And here is the rub; can Christians continue to play it safe by mouthing words of forgiveness but not observing its demands? God gives us that command, it is a hard command but it is in our best interest. Does not the example of Ahab give us a good lesson? And yet, we are not called to allow such behavior to go unsanctioned. There must be accountability but not a blood lust for revenge. I would go a step further too; it is critical that we move to understand why such people can do such things. How is it that bright young people in full possession of their sanity can do such things? Why so desperate an act?

In the days ahead our faith will be tested. Do we really believe in divine justice or are we trapped in the human justice of and "eye for an eye." Admittedly, the divine justice doesn’t seem to work in our world of cause and effect—we want to see immediate results that make up for all the pain we feel and that pacifies the outrage in us over these crimes. But God’s justice is different from our notion of what is just. The cycle of violence that will continue to generate more corpses will eventually consume everyone or at least large numbers of those involved. That is the nature of revenge—it is great white monster that can never be placated until none are left to continue the age-old slaughter.

The essence of the Law of God is mercy and it is embodied in Jesus Christ our Lord. So we are called to not let hate reign in our hearts. Being Christians and fair-minded people too we know that people are not to be blamed for the evil events of this week because they are members of Islam. Islam rejects the killing of innocents and the use of terror for they see it as a direct challenge to sovereignty of God. As Christians it is our duty then to extend our support to the Moslem community in these difficult times as they face the fear and experience of reprisals for something they abhorred as U.S. citizens.

In 1945 American soldiers finally freed the Auschwitz survivor, Kitty Hart, from Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. With many of her fellow prisoners she ran through the local German village looking for Germans to blame and hurt for what they had done. Finally, she came to a house with people surrounding this small German family cowering in a corner of the house. The crowd cheered her to take the knife she had taken from a dead SS guard and to kill the family. She took out the knife and ran to the family ready to strike, when she stopped dropped the knife and walked away. When asked why she did that she said, "If I had killed that family then, those that hurt and killed those whom I loved would have won and destroyed all I had, especially my soul." Words to ponder as we journey through the coming months.

Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Created October 6, 2001